2014 Fantasy Football Keeper Profile: RB DeMarco Murray

By Adam McGill

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

One of the most popular backs with the bust label attached to his name in fantasy football drafts this summer was RB DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys. The back missed nine games over his previous two seasons and was viewed as a worthless fantasy option by thousands of short-sighted owners.

This season, though, Murray has put up All-Pro fantasy numbers. He has scored 10 total touchdowns on the year, to go along with an impressive 1,124 rushing yards. Murray averaged an outstanding 5.2 yards per carry, which was fourth in the entire NFL among qualifying running backs.

Murray shockingly posted three performances with over 130 rushing yards, and despite his amazing numbers, Murray only received 20 carries or more in three games. The team simply decided to throw the ball more in the closing quarters, which was likely the reason why the team lost so many games down the stretch. Murray was still able to produce for fantasy owners on his limited amount of touches and his strong production this year should warrant an increased workload in 2014.

On top of his staggering rushing totals, Murray also caught 53 balls for a staggering 350 receiving yards. He once again proved to be one of the most versatile backs in football and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield has helped him stay on the field during third and long situations.

Murray even finished the season red-hot, as he scored six total touchdowns (five rushing/one receiving) over his last five games. He also added 376 rushing yards between Weeks 14-16, in what was one of the top performances by a back in the fantasy playoffs. Murray was one of the best backs to lean on down the stretch and he certainly made the most of his soft playoff schedule for fantasy owners.

Sure, Murray missed two games with a knee injury in the middle of the year, but other than the lone setback, he had an outstanding fantasy season. He quickly returned to action and ended up playing a career-high 14 games this year. He has earned a spot as a RB2 and you can bet his fantasy value will skyrocket next summer.

If you are in a dynasty league or any type of keeper league, don’t be afraid to hold onto Murray for one more season. He is coming off a career fantasy campaign and has finally established himself as a weekly starter.